


Facts

by 2nerd4this



Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: Angst, Angst?, Character Study?, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Introspection, Kinda a happy ending, i dont know what that is but it might be this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:07:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26561893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/2nerd4this/pseuds/2nerd4this
Summary: Catherine Parr is a logical person.This is a fact.Cathy was always very good at facts(Aka- Cathy is sad)
Relationships: Anne Boleyn & Catherine Parr, Anne of Cleves & Catherine Parr, Catherine of Aragon & Catherine Parr, Jane Seymour & Catherine Parr, Katherine Howard & Catherine Parr
Comments: 13
Kudos: 55





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Aight, so-
> 
> I wrote this in the middle of the night last night and put it on Tumblr, but this morning I was like, whatever, and decided to edit it and put it on here too because..... I feel like it. 
> 
> It's really weird, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.
> 
> Warning: Self-loathing, self-doubt, all that fun stuff

Catherine Parr is a logical person. 

This is a _fact._

Cathy was always very good at facts

Facts lead to more facts, by stringing them together to create more of the same, and connecting the dots until everything is a fact.

Clear and legitimate facts lead to clear and legitimate conclusions, and Cathy liked coming to conclusions because then her mind could rest and she didn’t have to ask any more questions about facts.

_Fact #1- ‘I don’t need your love.’_

Ok, so this wasn’t really a fact, as much as it was a statement, but it was true. Catherine Parr (I) did not need anyone’s (your) love. And that made it a fact.

She didn’t need her mother’s love, because her mother was dead and she moved on.

She didn’t need her sibling’s love, because she had left them behind long ago and she was fine.

She didn’t need her husbands’ love. None of them. Not that they really loved her in the first place.

She- She didn’t need her children’s love. She probably didn’t _deserve_ their love either, but that was a thought for another time.

And that was that. 

But it wasn’t really. Because there were more people in the world that loved her. At least- she hoped so.

She didn’t need Anna’s love, because the poor woman already put up with enough, and Cathy was just one more burden.

She didn’t need her sister-in-law’s love, because she had learned the hard way how a Seymour loves, and Jane didn’t deserve Cathy’s doubt.

She didn’t need the cousins’ love, because who where they to worry about her?

And- and she definitely didn’t need Catalina’s love. Because she couldn’t, she shouldn’t, let herself become so dependent on another human being. She needed to be able to defend for herself.

_Fact#2 ‘I am the survivor’_

‘A survivor’, as defined by Google, is ‘a person who survives, especially a person remaining alive after an event in which others have died.’

That means that Cathy cannot die because she is the survivor. Not that being the survivor makes her immortal. No, just the fact that if she dies, she is no longer the survivor, and then what is she?  
  


Because of this, it is quite clear that Cathy must do everything in her power to stay alive.

Fun fact. ‘A need’, as defined by mothers everywhere, is something that a person must have in order to survive.

Need=Survive

The most logical way to ensure that Cathy survives is to limit the things that can hurt her. The fewer needs she has- the easier it is to survive.

Unmet Needs=Death

Death=Bad

As such, Unmet Needs=Bad

Logical solution? Have less needs.

It’s good, then, that she doesn’t need their love.

_Fact #3 ‘Nonsymbiotic relationships are unhealthy’_

Cathy does not need the other Queen’s love, so they do not need her love. Pure and simple logic right there.

This is a good fact because they shouldn’t put so much stock in Cathy. She isn’t a very good person to love, anyway.

Most of the time, that gets you dead.

And while Cathy may not need their love, she still cares about them. She would never want to see them hurt.

This is where Cathy can connect the dots, and come to a clear conclusion.

Since she is a danger to the Queens, she should not be around them any more than necessary.

Since she doesn’t need their love, she can survive without them. And she is the survivor, after all.

Since they clearly don’t need her love, it is not harmful to them if she draws away, and eventually leaves.

.

Catherine Parr is the survivor. She doesn’t need their love. Catherine Parr is a danger. She is better off on her own.

.

Catherine Parr is a logical person.

This is a _fact_.

And the facts tell her one thing-

_She is all alone._


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I wasn't planning on a second chapter, but Lewiss had a great idea, and I was getting a little overwhelmed by the pure angst fest that is the other fic I'm currently working on, so....... have some fluffy hurt/comfort.
> 
> -For clarity purposes, the contents of the last chapter is something Cathy wrote in the notebook that is mentioned multiple times in this chapter-
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

The Queens wished they could say that they noticed something was wrong, but if they were being honest, they hadn't.

Anne mentioned later that there were usually warning signs for this kind of thing, according to her therapist, but sometimes, these signs had become the norm and no one noticed anything.

This was one of those times.

  
  


A cold Monday morning, one of the few that Anna had forgone her usual run and joined the others in the living room, found five half-awake Queens spread over the first floor. 

Lina, not one to deviate from routine, was still in her usual place on the back porch, covered in a thick blanket and wearing the singular hoodie she owned, which spent the rest of its time in her goddaughter’s closet, and was skimming through her Bible.

Jane and Kitty had huddled up on the couch and were skipping through channels, both absentmindedly eating their breakfast and waiting for their tea too cool.

Anna had come down the steps earlier with two laundry baskets piled on top of each other and was currently changing Anne’s load over from the night before so she could put her own stuff in.

Cathy was sprawled out across the armchair next to the cousins, almost completely covered in a thick, fluffy blanket, and was scratching away in her notebook, occasionally stopping to stare off into the distance.

The only one missing, to no one’s surprise, was Anne, who rarely came down before 10. Even if she woke up early, she would lounge in her own room and take her sweet time getting ready. As she explained to the others, she was doing the same thing they were, just with some privacy.

What was a surprise, then, was when the telltale sound of running footsteps could be heard echoing down the staircase. Even if she hadn't been the only one missing, they had all reached a point where they could tell who was approaching just by the sound of their steps. 

Even Catalina, who had the glass door shut to keep out the cold from the others, turned to look at the foot of the steps, and Jane paused the television. Contrary to popular belief, Anne wasn’t so chaotic that she ran around the house just for the fun of it.

Seconds later, the green-clad woman came barreling through the doorway, narrowly missing Anna, who had just stepped out of the laundry room, skirted around the coffee table, and landed centimeters in front of Cathy, who just blinked up at her.

“You- You- You absolute moron!” Anne exclaimed, slamming the open notebook she was carrying onto the side table next to the girl. 

“What?” Cathy asked, tilting her head in genuine confusion. The others didn’t move, too transfixed by Anne’s sudden appearance and apparent anger.

“You’re the dumbest person alive, you know that?”

“Anne-” Anna tried to cut in, stepping farther into the room, but to no avail.

“What on earth are you talking about?” Cathy shifted so she was sitting up straight and pushed the blanket off of her, but didn’t try to stand. Anne’s position made that impossible.

“You’re so stupid!”

“Anne!” Catalina exclaimed, having slid inside the house and was now standing protectively behind her goddaughter. “Why would you say that?”

“Take a look,” Anne scoffed, tilting her head to the notebook on the table. Catalina didn’t move for a moment, eyeing the second Queen suspiciously, but eventually sighed and shook her head, picking up the book and skimming through quickly. 

After a moment, her expression morphed from confusion to anger, and she set the notebook back down, carefully and deliberately, before turning back to Anne and nodding.

“Right.”

“See?” Anne asked, voice rising in pitch dramatically. Catalina nodded slowly, then turned back to Cathy, who was now glancing between the two nervously. 

“What- What are you talking about?”

Anne nodded towards the notebook once more, and Cathy twisted in her chair to see what the woman had brought, before sighing and sinking back into the chair, defeated.

“Oh.”

“Yeah, oh.” Anne mocked, shaking her head. “You’re so- so-”

“Idiotic.” Catalina deadpanned. Anne nodded vehemently.

There was a long silence in which the first and second Queen watched the woman in the chair, clearly waiting for her to say something. 

It was finally broken, though, by Anna.

“Alright, care to clue the rest of us in on what’s happening?”

Anne turned to the others, regarding them for a moment, before picking the notebook back up and handing it to the older woman. Anna took it with a sharp nod, then slid onto the couch between Jane and Kat, and all three of them peered carefully at the scribbled writing that filled the entire page.

Kitty, apparently, finished first, because after a few moments, she pushed off the couch and crossed the room in two strides, before sliding past her cousin and pulling the shocked sixth Queen into her arms.

“I’m sorry, Cathy,” she muttered into the girl’s hair as the smaller woman tensed up and tried to keep her breathing level. 

“What-” she tried, but then swallowed the lump in her throat, “What for?”

“Kiddo...” Anna spoke up from the couch sadly. “I- We-” 

“We’re  _ all _ sorry,” Jane interrupted as the older Queen faltered.   


“What?” Cathy asked again, peeling herself out of Kitty’s arms and sitting back. “But- But I’m the one who should be sorry.”

“No, mija.” Catalina shook her head sadly. 

“But- but you were mad at me.” Cathy glanced up at Anne, who shifted her weight awkwardly and nodded.

“Yeah.... sorry. You just- it just shocked me, that’s all. I shouldn’t have yelled.”

“Where did you find this, Anne?” Anna asked, gesturing to the notebook.

“Oh, err, I wasn’t snooping, if that’s what you're asking. I was just looking for the book I lent Cath a while ago, and I saw my name in the notebook. She had written- well, that’s not important- but it was really sweet, so I turned the page because I thought it might continue, and... yeah.”

“It was, uh,” Cathy started, and all heads snapped to her. She paused at the sudden attention, blushing slightly, then continued, “I was just jotting down some ideas I had for the biography I’m working on, and after Anne’s part, I guess I just... started writing without thinking and... that happened.” She pointed to the notebook, and the others followed her finger.

There was a moment of silence as they all processed the new information, before Jane muttered-

“Do you mean it?”

“What?”

“What you wrote. Do you really mean it?”   


“I-” Cathy tried, but all eyes were on her again and she fumbled. “I dunno. Maybe.”

“Querida-” Catalina started, then looked questioningly at Kitty, who nodded and stood, leaving room next to Cathy, which was quickly filled by the first Queen. “Come here, love.”

The younger girl hesitated for just a moment before allowing herself to lean into her godmother’s arms, and even though her face was hidden in the soft hoodie, the others could all hear the choked sobs.

“I’m-” she hiccuped, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, madrina, I didn’t mean-”

“Shh,” Catalina mumbled, rubbing the woman’s back with one hand and twirling her curls with the other. “You’re alright, it’s alright. I’m so sorry you felt like you had to keep this all in, mi hija, that must have been horrible.”

“It-” she hiccuped again, “It was! It's- it's awful.”

“Yeah, I bet,” Catalina cooed, smiling softly. The others watched on silently, all feeling some odd mixture of concern and relief. At least now they knew.

“Do you want to talk about it with us?” Anna finally asked softly, sitting gingerly on the arm of the chair. Cathy peeked out at her, considered it for a moment, then shook her head.

“Alright, that’s understandable. Just- just know we love you. Always.”

“I know,” Cathy nodded, then, at Anne's poor attempt to conceal her doubtful look. “I promise, I know. I just... I’m not sure... not sure if you  _ should. _ It’s dangerous. For all of us. _ ” _

“Oh, Cathy,” Kitty breathed, but Jane laid a gentle hand on her shoulder to stop her before she could continue. 

“We don’t need to get into it further right now if you don’t want to, Cathy,” the third Queen said softly, standing so she could join the circle that had formed. Anna followed close behind. “We can talk about this all later, alright?”

Cathy nodded again, shifting in her godmother’s arms so she was facing the others. They all smiled down at her.

“For now... group hug?” Jane opened her arms questioningly, and Cathy let out a choked laugh. Anne beamed at this, standing as well and reaching down to help the two Catherines up.

“Sounds perfect,” Anna said, stepping forward immediately and pulling Jane and Kitty with her. Catalina did the same with the two women next to her, and no one said anything when Cathy was gently maneuvered into the center of the circle and immediately became invisible to any onlooker as the much taller Queens surrounded her.

They stayed that way for longer than any of them cared to admit, and no one questioned it when, hours later, they all ended up in Cathy's room for the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
